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Hey guys - love the thread. I just wanted to post on here and say that I'm a slightly disconnected salt water / reef enthusiast who has fallen out of the hobby in recent months, but am looking to get back into it. Here is my situation, and hopefully you guys will be able to help me along the way: I currently have a 40 gal tall tank with 2 false Percula clown fish / 40 lbs live sand. I am moving in a few months (not buying a house, likely renting) so space for the tank will be limited at best. I understand that right now there's only 2 fish in my tank, and no live rock to speak of. The tank has been established for a few years now, but only recently has come under the state that it's in. In an effort to slim down the amount that I'm responsible for when I finally make the move, I'm considering getting a desk-top nano aquarium, and would like to know a few options. From reading this thread, I understand that I really shouldn't go with anything under 10 gallons if I'm going to have fish in there. I don't really plan on having many fish, the two clowns and possibly a few chromis and a blenny. I do, however, plan on stocking the tank with some live rock, and getting a few shrimp / crabs and snails to keep things clean. I don't feel as if I currently possess the necessary knowledge to keep a full reef tank with corals, so I'm not looking to expand the idea at this time. Sorry for making you read all of that, but now down to the gist of the matter; can anyone recommend me a nano setup? I am interested in setups that are all-inclusive, the lights, filtration, heating, etc. all in one package. Very clean design, nothing extraneous or monstrously inconvenient to move. I am currently looking at the Oceanic BioCube Size 14 (14-gallon), which can be seen here: http://www.fosterandsmithaquatics.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=18538 Does anyone have any experience with these? If they're no good, could you potentially recommend me something else? Much appreciated!
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# ? Nov 18, 2010 23:37 |
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# ? May 10, 2024 06:49 |
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Anyone ever move reef tanks? I have a spare tank I was thinking of setting it up at the new place as a 'staging' tank while we get the main one set up. How long can fish/corals survive without a cycle?
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# ? Nov 19, 2010 00:45 |
cculos posted:Hey guys - love the thread. I just wanted to post on here and say that I'm a slightly disconnected salt water / reef enthusiast who has fallen out of the hobby in recent months, but am looking to get back into it. Here is my situation, and hopefully you guys will be able to help me along the way: I've run a BC14 before and I can recommend them. However, their stock lighting and stock filtration both really suck. If you are going to ever keep corals in the future, I'd invest in a nanotuners upgrade kit for future proofing. As far as the stock filtration, I would remove what's in the middle back chamber and put in the Biocube skimmer (weak, but one of the few nano skimmers that would fit and it DOES work) in the back right, and a media reactor for phosphate removers in the middle chamber. Since you want fish that do jump, also consider getting the BC14 fishguard from mediabaskets.com (or make your own, just make sure to make about the same size) to prevent the fish from ending up in the back chambers. I would not keep more than one other fish with the two clowns, because that's a ridiculous amount of bioload for a BC14. Go with some small-ish inverts that aren't huge meateaters. If you aren't too attached to the Biocube brand, there are other cube AIOs with exposed back chambers that you could simply put LR rubble in and plant mangroves in, and that will help with nutrient uptake so that you could potentially skip the media reactor (and constantly changing the media, blech) although I would still use a skimmer. For example, the Nanocube 28 HQI I believe has an exposed back chamber that you could easily run that way--LiveAquaria has one with a free stand for $500-ish, and you would only have to add a skimmer to it since it already has decent lighting. The mediabasket it uses I would convert to a refugium rack or remove entirely and still go with the rubble+mangrove route. revmoo posted:Anyone ever move reef tanks? Set up the new tank in the new place, lay down new substrate, if you're adding rocks start them in that new tank, keep your old system running. When you're ready to move the old tank out, take all the rocks, corals, fish in buckets and just drop them right in. Your new tank need not cycle, because your old rocks transfer over with all the bacteria already colonized. VAGENDA OF MANOCIDE fucked around with this message at 15:31 on Nov 19, 2010 |
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# ? Nov 19, 2010 15:23 |
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If you're planning on upgrading the lighting in a biocube, these would be a good option. http://www.rapidled.com/servlet/the-71/20-Ultra-Premium-LED/Detail
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# ? Nov 19, 2010 20:45 |
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I have a 25 gallon tank right now with a 55w power compact. In it there is a bunch of live rock, a green chromis, a false percula clown, a bunch of hermits, 2 emerald crabs, several varieties of snail, and a long tentacle anemone. The tank is about 7 months old now. We had one big cycle of red cyano which we took care of a few months ago, but now we have this green long-hair sort of algae growing around the tank. It started on the back wall, then slowly took over. I don't think we have many things that eat it (I know that SOME of our snails do, but the stuff grew faster than they ate it... I also saw a few blue-leg hermits eating it at one point). It is pretty attached to the rock, to the point where if I try to pull it off, it can cause the rocks to shift around. Is there a good way to get rid of this stuff? How can I prevent future outbreaks? Is this a normal part of the tank's life cycle? Also, we want to upgrade the lighting so that we can put in maybe some polyps or other hard corals. We need to avoid heat though, so we would probably go with LEDs of some sort or another CFL. Any recommendations for the tank?
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# ? Nov 19, 2010 21:24 |
ludnix posted:If you're planning on upgrading the lighting in a biocube, these would be a good option. Did they tap the heatsink and pre-mount the LEDs for you? Because I HATE doing that. In fact, I wouldn't even solder wires if I could get away with it, there are now mounts available (i.e. not only in bulk quantities of 2000+ from Hong Kong) for CREE LEDs that screw in to the heatsink that you could just screw wires into. For example: http://www.rapidled.com/servlet/the-86/Drilled-and-Tapped-4.25%22/Detail And: http://www.rapidled.com/servlet/the-120/Solderless-Connector-for-CREE/Detail Thermal adhesive sucks to work with in my experience, I'd rather use grease and screw the LEDs down. Makes replacing LEDs less of a pain in the rear end, too. edit: also note that ludnix's link is for a BC29, they do offer a kit sized for a BC14. VAGENDA OF MANOCIDE fucked around with this message at 22:39 on Nov 19, 2010 |
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# ? Nov 19, 2010 22:29 |
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arioch posted:I've run a BC14 before and I can recommend them. However, their stock lighting and stock filtration both really suck. If you are going to ever keep corals in the future, I'd invest in a nanotuners upgrade kit for future proofing. As far as the stock filtration, I would remove what's in the middle back chamber and put in the Biocube skimmer (weak, but one of the few nano skimmers that would fit and it DOES work) in the back right, and a media reactor for phosphate removers in the middle chamber. Thanks for this information. I ordered the cube yesterday from Amazon, should be coming in soon. Can someone perhaps recommend me a solid third addition (fish speaking) to the tank? I want something attractive to look at that would maybe help out with the cleanup efforts, perhaps a goby? Edit: Also, I've been looking at the Soft Coral Pack specifically for nano tanks, listed here: http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=597+600+2033&pcatid=2033 Can anyone tell me about these? I'm also considering a small "Reef Cleaner" package designed for nano tanks as well. I don't want to go too crazy, and this is all in due time, but I just want to make sure I'm covering my grounds. I also plan on getting a cleaner shrimp because I love their personality (I was very upset when I lost mine a while back). cculos fucked around with this message at 00:42 on Nov 20, 2010 |
# ? Nov 20, 2010 00:27 |
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khysanth posted:I have a 25 gallon tank right now with a 55w power compact. In it there is a bunch of live rock, a green chromis, a false percula clown, a bunch of hermits, 2 emerald crabs, several varieties of snail, and a long tentacle anemone. I'm pretty sure the green hair is just part of a new tank. It seems like the cycle is diatoms, red cyano, green hair, and then finally coraline algae, over the course of a year or so. Personally I ignored it and it went away.
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# ? Nov 20, 2010 00:43 |
cculos posted:Thanks for this information. I ordered the cube yesterday from Amazon, should be coming in soon. Can someone perhaps recommend me a solid third addition (fish speaking) to the tank? I want something attractive to look at that would maybe help out with the cleanup efforts, perhaps a goby? No telling what they toss in that pack, those colors don't look all that bright. Most generic packages like that are filled with tans and browns, and those mushroom colors are as common as can be. Depending on where you're located, I'd try to get in the local reef club to see what frags are being passed around, especially at swaps. For example, in the Chicagoland area, we have swaps every 4 months and usually have at least 150 people (usually 300-ish)in attendance with dozens of vendors, and those prices are generally very attractive for excellent quality pest-free frags. Also I'd check around for high-end quality LFSes. With the economy the way it is, and depending on the general health of the hobby in your area, good LFSes might sell healthy, large coral frags for $10 a pop or with BOGO pricing ... and that's stuff you can see before you buy. If you want WYSIWYG on LiveAquaria you're pretty screwed because you're looking at $40 per frag AT LEAST plus $40 shipping. For a 3rd fish most nano gobies would do nicely since they hang around the bottom more than where clowns usually like to be (particularly if you give them some corals or mushrooms or whatever to be hosted in) and I'd stay away from bigger gobies that can rearrange corals or substrate, etc. I sold my BC14 to a friend with a pair of ocellaris clowns and recommended just a common firefish for her. It worked out alright. Also keep in mind feeding requirements, a lot of the really pretty smaller fish like to keep eating and can starve to death easily if your tank doesn't have a huge well-established population of pods (thinking dragonets, but other fish apply as well). In any case, I would not go to a 3rd fish or corals until the tank is well established in terms of chemistry. Keep in mind that clowns (generally tank-bred) are used to ridiculous ammonia/nitrite concentrations when they were young so they'll easily ride out the cycle. As far as a cleaner crew, I'd stay away from all crabs (except scarlet leg reef hermits) and away from astraea snails, big turbos are also out since the tank is so small. Those are stuff they like tossing in clean-up packages, I'd avoid any package that has them. Anything else should be more or less fine. I like a sizable population of nassarius snails (tonga and atlantic varieties), some trochus snails, nerites can be annoying with their eggcases all over the place and their tendency to hang above the waterline, and some ceriths. I also have good luck with money cowries (most other cowries available in the trade are predatory, money cowries are truly herbivorous and stay pretty small) but you gotta make sure they're Cypraea moneta, with a golden ring on the shell instead of any other patterns. They're also quite distinctive if you see their mantle out. Stuff I also like to toss in a tank: white/banded mini brittle stars, spaghetti worms, bristle worms, stomatella snails. See if local reefers have them. I'd try to hook up with a local reefing community through reefcentral. That does depend on level of activity in your area though. Chicago tends to have the best in the continental states, apparently.
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# ? Nov 20, 2010 01:53 |
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I just got back from the Cleveland Saltwater Enthusiast's annual Frag-a-thon and I came away with the following for $40 (plus another $20 for a year's membership): 3 - Acro frags (2 pink, one brownish-purple) 1 - Chalice coral frag 1 - HUGE green w/yellow tip torch frag (2 polyps) 4 - assorted zoas (L.A. Laker, Agent Orange, Copper, and some pink one) 1 - Yellow fiji leather 1 - Superman Montipora I think I got a pretty good deal, since it appears frags of torch are going for like $220 in that color combo. We'll see though! Pics to come later when everything opens up. One question though: The chalice came unmounted, can I just lay it on a level piece of rock and it will encrust and plate out? I don't happen to have any superglue at the moment, and I don't really have much in my tank that does landscaping. The smaller zoas are on a separate rack until there are enough of them to survive the occasional hermit crab dinner.
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# ? Nov 20, 2010 05:09 |
Melchior posted:I just got back from the Cleveland Saltwater Enthusiast's annual Frag-a-thon and I came away with the following for $40 (plus another $20 for a year's membership): It'd have to be seriously stable to do that, and yes it can. Zoos don't grow fast enough to survive crabs, so I'd get rid of the crabs as soon as possible.
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# ? Nov 20, 2010 05:26 |
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Picked up a ORA Red Planet frag and a Meteor Shower Cyphastrea frag for $20 today. Omnomnom.
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# ? Nov 20, 2010 07:26 |
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arioch posted:Did they tap the heatsink and pre-mount the LEDs for you? Because I HATE doing that. In fact, I wouldn't even solder wires if I could get away with it, there are now mounts available (i.e. not only in bulk quantities of 2000+ from Hong Kong) for CREE LEDs that screw in to the heatsink that you could just screw wires into. That heatsink is already tapped from the picture. I personally love using thermal adhesive, you don't have to worry about your solder joints getting near the screws if you're terrible at soldering or use nylon washers on the screws. The adhesive from artic silver just mixes in a two part and you spread it on the underside of the LED like you would with thermal grease. It gives you a little more freedom with placing the LEDs, but you're right in that you will not be able to use the new solderless connectors though. It's worth pointing out that you cannot use optics with the solderless connectors though, so outside of the biocube or cases where the LEDs are like 2" from the water you wouldn't want to use them without optics. The biggest downside to thermal adhesive is that's it's permanent, whereas if you screwed everything down you're going to have a lot easier time replacing an burned out LED. With thermal adhesive you're going to have to put nailpolish remover around the edge of the LED to help loosen it enough to get it off.
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# ? Nov 20, 2010 17:30 |
ludnix posted:That heatsink is already tapped from the picture. I personally love using thermal adhesive, you don't have to worry about your solder joints getting near the screws if you're terrible at soldering or use nylon washers on the screws. The adhesive from artic silver just mixes in a two part and you spread it on the underside of the LED like you would with thermal grease. It gives you a little more freedom with placing the LEDs, but you're right in that you will not be able to use the new solderless connectors though. You're totally right, of course. I just wish I had lense options for that solderless connector pad. Maybe if I can superglue the regular lenses down.... worth a try, I have a bunch of buckpucks, dimmers, a power supply, etc., still and it'd probably be worth it to get a bunch of the new stuff to experiment.
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# ? Nov 21, 2010 01:18 |
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The optics could probably have the friction pads shaved off and then be glued down, but soldering the LEDs sounds easier than that. LEDs aside, I got vortech ecosmart mp40w at Reef-a-palooza this october. I got it for $350 which quite a steal for a brand new one with everything needed. So far I love the pump, it's currently replacing 2 K4s, and works great. My only complaint is that with only 3 buttons on the module and the only indictor being a few LEDs programming the pump is somewhat complicated. A small LCD could make a world of difference in ease.
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# ? Nov 21, 2010 06:26 |
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I love my MP40W as well, but it really is the Ferrari of reef equipment. drat thing breaks down every few months and requires something expensive. If it isn't the wet-side powerhead disintegrating, its the AC adapter or the control module (that one was expensive and happened 1 week out of warranty).
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# ? Nov 21, 2010 19:02 |
I bought a used MP40, bought the upgrade kit to MP40W ES, and only had a problem with the wetside because the magnet was scoring the inside. After I got that replaced under warranty the unit's been running like a dream for the past 5 months or so. Right now it's running opposite a MP10W ES on the same tank.
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# ? Nov 21, 2010 20:49 |
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Well, after a month or so of waiting, my semi-picasso clown finally hosted in my frogspawn. The coral doesn't seem to like it much, it retracts shortly after the fish starts rubbing all over it - I'm assuming that's normal? Will it ever get used to it? I was also wondering, do clowns ever change hosts? I was thinking of putting an elegance coral in in a month or two and thought he might look better in that, but I'm not sure if he'll go in it(not that it matters, I still plan to get it).
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# ? Nov 23, 2010 00:18 |
a duck posted:Well, after a month or so of waiting, my semi-picasso clown finally hosted in my frogspawn. The coral doesn't seem to like it much, it retracts shortly after the fish starts rubbing all over it - I'm assuming that's normal? Will it ever get used to it? Depends on the size of the frogspawn colony and the behavior of the clown (in general as a species, and also in specific). Probably a bad idea to try to get a clown in an elegance coral, because that coral has a much more ... gusto ... feeding habit. If the clown tries to sleep in it the elegance might well decide to have a very expensive dinner. Clowns, in my experience, will have several alternate hosting sites picked out and prefer different ones at different times for their own reasons. You may not be able to force a permanent re-homing barring taking out the original host.
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# ? Nov 23, 2010 00:46 |
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Euphyllia seem to handle changes after a few days, I personally think it's the ideal host for most clownfish since it's so hardy compared to anemones. If it fully retracts and doesn't inflate after a few days I'd try to separate the clown from it. Here's a friends clown in a torch coral (same genus as frogspawn and hammer): Here's my clowns laying eggs in their hosted colony of hammer coral: ludnix fucked around with this message at 06:24 on Nov 23, 2010 |
# ? Nov 23, 2010 06:18 |
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That's interesting to know about the elegance coral. I didn't know it might eat my fish. The frogspawn isn't too big, probably about twice the diameter fully expanded as the clownfish(which is a juvenile, about 6 months old). In general, during the day he will swim slightly above it and touch the tentacles occasionally, and will sometimes go crazy and rub himself all over it, which is when the coral retracts. So far though it doesn't retract for too long. When he's not hovering over it, which is usually at night, he just swims up and down by his magnet cleaner until I turn the light on. I'd still like to get the elegance some day though...would it be safer to wait until my clown gets a little older, or will it always be a danger?
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# ? Nov 23, 2010 06:36 |
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Once your clown picks a host it will probably stick to it, so once it's been in the frogspawn for a while it probably care about your elegance.
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# ? Nov 23, 2010 07:08 |
I still wouldn't take the risk. I firmly believe all clowns are insane, but even if not any clown is an individual just like you or me and that individual may want a summer home and that's when disaster will strike.
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# ? Nov 23, 2010 18:47 |
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I'm not fully convinced a clown would be eaten by an elegance coral though. It's not as though the corals decide whether or not to eat the fish based on it's species, but rather that clowns are capable of keeping the corals from triggering it's nematocysts. If anything I would be more concerned for the elegance, as clowns can severely annoy certain corals and an elegance is particularly sensitive compared to euphyllia.
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# ? Nov 23, 2010 20:36 |
ludnix posted:I'm not fully convinced a clown would be eaten by an elegance coral though. It's not as though the corals decide whether or not to eat the fish based on it's species, but rather that clowns are capable of keeping the corals from triggering it's nematocysts. I think it's speculated (or generally acknowledged at this point?) that clowns that are hosted in LPS corals that get stun develop excess black spots as part of some weird physiological response, so I think they do get stung but shrug it off, actually. Anyway there are horror stories about elegance corals eating fish, including clowns. I wouldn't trust one around a sleeping clown. edit: I've seen my ocellaris pair get those black spots from hanging in a hammer colony, then those spots went away after a while. VAGENDA OF MANOCIDE fucked around with this message at 00:30 on Nov 24, 2010 |
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# ? Nov 24, 2010 00:22 |
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One of my clowns has black spots; the other does not. Yet, none of them get anywhere near my /huge/ frogspawn colony. They both sleep in the red people eater zoanthid bed, though, but the spots came from before they started doing that.
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# ? Nov 24, 2010 04:20 |
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After considering what you guys have said re: elegance coral, I'm thinking my next coral will be a red sun coral. I know they require feeding of stuff like brine shrimp, etc, but have you ever heard of them eating a larger shrimp (ie a cleaner)? My cleaner shrimp will always crawl on coral and I wouldn't want him to crawl on the sun coral and be their dinner. I haven't seen any complaints about that in other forums so I think I'll be safe... Also, this is probably a really dumb question, but I'm going to be upgrading my lighting this weekend on my 24g biocube from a 72W to 108W, adding a 36W actinic bulb. Would keeping all 108W on during the day do anything, or would the bulb have to be the 10000K day bulb like my other ones to make a difference? In other words,when purchasing coral would you consider my tank to still be 3W/Gallon(i know that designation doesn't mean much), or higher due to the actinic? I should have gone with the 144W upgrade so I'd have 108W daylight bulbs and the 36W actinic, but it was a lot more expensive and complicated to install
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# ? Nov 26, 2010 20:51 |
I would be more worried about the cleaner shrimp stealing food from the sun coral, but if you make sure to feed the shrimp first before feeding the coral you ought to be fine. Sun corals aren't THAT tough for me, I drip phyto and have so many pods and little mysids in my tank that I'm not worried about any NPS corals, but you might want to reconsider them until your nutrient cycle and export is more established, because you'll have to spot feed lots of frozen. VAGENDA OF MANOCIDE fucked around with this message at 23:00 on Nov 26, 2010 |
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# ? Nov 26, 2010 22:50 |
Got a DSLR (Canon Rebel T1i) for Thanksgiving, playing with it: Click here for the full 1280x853 image. No clue what it is but it's cool. Click here for the full 1280x853 image. Acropora microclados, Strawberry Shortcake (VERY pretty) Click here for the full 1280x853 image. Superman monti Click here for the full 1280x853 image. blue/green zoanthids, button polyps, yellow sponge, a very nice rock
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# ? Nov 26, 2010 23:17 |
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Nice pics. I need to get a new camera to get better aquarium pictures... I do have a decent amount of copepods, but I only really see them around my zoo polyps. I don't mind feeding a lot of frozen though. How long since starting your tank did it take to build up a decent amount of mysid?
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# ? Nov 26, 2010 23:19 |
a duck posted:Nice pics. I need to get a new camera to get better aquarium pictures... You have to seed your tank with a dozen of them or so. Look for local reefers who have them in their sump and have them collect them for you. It takes a month or so for them to populate. During and after that period, just feed them phyto (I like the Brightwell small micron stuff and I alternate green and gold varieties. The medium/large micron phyto doesn't seem to be as concentrated.)
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# ? Nov 26, 2010 23:33 |
arioch posted:You have to seed your tank with a dozen of them or so. Look for local reefers who have them in their sump and have them collect them for you. It takes a month or so for them to populate. FWIW I got my breeding population from a friend who had so many of them they were in his skimmer tube.
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# ? Nov 26, 2010 23:42 |
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Moving tanks in just a few more days. I'm setting up a staging tank (30gal) at the new place with old water and live rock, no sand. Then I'll get the tank moved over and filled with new sand, let it settle for a day or so and then start dropping things in. Tank is a 65gal with 20gal sump. Any last words of advice? We have soft corals and fish.
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# ? Nov 29, 2010 03:53 |
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Sounds like that will work just fine. As long as you give stuff time to acclimate properly I doubt it'd be much different than bringing stuff home from the LFS.
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# ? Nov 29, 2010 13:45 |
Melchior posted:Sounds like that will work just fine. As long as you give stuff time to acclimate properly I doubt it'd be much different than bringing stuff home from the LFS. While that's true, the problem is you're essentially subjecting everything in your tank to the same stress at once. With more delicate livestock that can start a chain reaction. Not that it's not his only option, though.
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# ? Nov 29, 2010 16:53 |
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What is the blueish bubble thing? It looks similar to that thing linked earlier in the thread (which I don't seem to be able to find easily at the moment). Thanks!
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# ? Dec 3, 2010 03:01 |
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Tunicate, one of my favorite things about liverock. Hopefully nothing eats it and you get a colony.
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# ? Dec 3, 2010 03:39 |
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I just wanted to say that this thread is amazing, and thank you so much to everyone who has been contributing to it. I have never owned an aquarium, other than my girlfriend's 10g Goldfish tank, but over the past 6 months or so I have been seriously debating getting a saltwater reef tank. I have been reading a lot over that time and this thread has definitely helped quite a bit. It's crazy though, even after all that reading I still feel like I have huge gaps in my knowledge. While I can't really afford to drop a grand on a new aquarium and setup, I think I may just watch craigslist and start collecting parts. Was thinking about shooting for a 55 gallon. I will certainly post here regarding parts or processes before I do anything, as it seems like we have quite a few very knowledgeable and helpful people in this thread. Thanks again!
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# ? Dec 3, 2010 05:48 |
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The learning never ends with it either, but that's what keeps it interesting. I would look around for a 75 or 90 instead of the 55 though. They are the same length, but the 55 is really narrow compared to the 75 or 90. It's one of those things you don't really notice until you try and place your rocks in there see how limited your options are.
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# ? Dec 3, 2010 07:10 |
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# ? May 10, 2024 06:49 |
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Well now you've done it, you've twisted my arm. I guess I'll have to look at larger tanks then. Thanks a lot! [Edit: What do you guys think about something like this? http://miami.craigslist.org/mdc/for/2083509385.html ] [Edit2: Actually, that one may be a bit bigger than I am looking to go. May stick around 75-90, like you were saying. That just seems like a great deal. Guess I won't really know until I am watching Craigslist for a few weeks.] Internet Explorer fucked around with this message at 14:43 on Dec 3, 2010 |
# ? Dec 3, 2010 13:50 |